


High Hopes

by SlashGod



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Multi, PTSD, Reginald is a bad father, Time Travel, We love Vanya, drug mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-11-23 21:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18157205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlashGod/pseuds/SlashGod
Summary: As if things could get worse than Vanya blowing up the moon - oh wait, this was Klaus' life, which meant the only way things could go would be getting worse. Like appearing back in time in your pubescent body with a father who hates you. Hey, at least Ben is alive.





	1. Chapter 1

\--Prologue--

Time travel was a bitch.

Klaus hadn’t enjoyed it the first time around, or the second. So the third time was like a kick in the teeth. One he’d become strangely used to.

This time it was like he’d started to jump up and then forgotten what he was doing, his legs collapsing under him when his feet inevitably touched the floor. The only consolation was that the others seemed to do the same.

It was lucky really, that they didn’t all bash their heads together and end up with a mass concussion between them.

The hand on his shoulder tightened.

Ben.

Klaus couldn’t even see straight (yes thank you), but he remembered what had happened. Vanya. The moon exploding. _Ben_.

He snatched his hands away from Diego and from holding Vanya's ankle, throwing his body to the side to tackle his long deceased brother, who was now very much alive.

“ _Ow_! Klaus!”

There was clamoring, Luther probably enjoying being in a prepubescent non ape body, and the others just generally being themselves, but Klaus was too busy trying to merge his body with Ben's, hugging him so tightly he may have heard something pop.

“Ben!”

That’s how Reginald Hargreeves came across his adoptive children, the morning after Number Five disappeared.

The six of them hugging like it had been years since they were altogether, and Vanya, laying unconscious.

“ _What_ is going on?!”

Silence.

“Group affections are only permitted on Sundays between 1 and 1:30 pm. You know this.”

“Oh Gods how I’ve **not** missed your whiny little voice.” Klaus heard himself say. Younger self. Boy, is this what Five had felt like, an old mind trapped in a young body? It was frustrating the way his voice wasn't pitched quite right, even though in his head it was still the same as his older self. Weird. 

“Number Four-!”

“My name is KLAUS!” 

The sudden movement from sitting (sprawled across Ben), to standing (protectively in front of Ben), had Klaus’ head spinning. Eh, he’d done worse, like that time at the carnival when Nutty the Clown-

“-what has gotten into you, boy!”

“A man named Dave. And he was  _ fabulous _ .”

“Klaus…” Diego stood, next to him. Just an inch shorter, but shoulders squared, the confidence of his older self seeping in to the young body. “You should sit down. You don’t look so hot.” Klaus could see a flicker of the Diego he knew - the older version, at the same time he saw the younger one. It was making his head hurt.

“Yeah, I… I don’t feel so hot either.” Klaus nodded, sitting right back down from where he had been stood, head between his knees and taking deep breaths.

“Number Two. Taking the lead, are you, boy?”

Diego clenched his fist. “You did this.” 

Pogo was here now, Klaus could hear his monkey paws. And the delightful tap of Moms shoes as she followed. He spared a glance to her. Elegant, as always. She looked like she wanted to help, but dear old Dads arm was stopping her from moving.

“Elaborate.”

“I just watched the world end.” Diego’s voice was quiet. Calm. Yet it held the room. 

Even Five was silent, one hand gripping Allison’s, the other hugging Ben. Luther was in a similar position, unable to even meet Reginald’s gaze. 

“Because of you. Because of your shit show excuse of parenting. Because y-you, you couldn’t e-even-!”

“Remember what we spoke about, Diego. Think of the words.”

A breath. Deep. Calming.

“Because you couldn’t tell the truth, even to your own kids.” Diego motioned to Vanya, unconscious on the floor. “We just witnessed her powers. She blew up the fucking  _ moon _ . The  **_moon_ ** , dad.”

Reginald was silent, and there was something in his eyes that Diego hadn’t seen before. Regret, maybe? Diego shook his head, sitting on the floor and pulling Klaus to him, like a comfort blanket. 

“Clearly you children have been playing games outside of your allocated slots-“

“I was dead.” Ben spoke up. “I died. A horrible, horrible death. I can’t even begin to-“ Ben frowned. “I won’t begin to explain it. How can you look at us, and see children. We’ve all done things, things you couldn’t even comprehend.”

Ben pulled himself from the grasp of his adoptive siblings, despite their muttered protest.

“No-one is attending lessons today. Or tomorrow. Not until you start to listen. And I’d figure something out for Vanya, if I were you, because she is going to be pissed when she wakes up.”

Ben tapped Klaus’ head, and with help from Diego the three of them retired to one of their rooms.

Allison and Luther were soon to follow, Luther looking over Allison neck while she laughed and cried, making sounds just because she could.

Finally, Five stood up.

“You were right. I wasn’t ready to time travel back then. But I’ve gotten the hang of it now.” He looked as impressed as usual, and judgmental to boot. “I have questions. Right now though I’m going to make a margarita and go to bed. I haven’t slept, in a long, long time.” He patted Reginald’s chest as he walked by, heading straight for the mini bar.

Reginald Hargreeves, for once in his life, had no words. 

No commands. No remarks. Not even a quip.

Five enjoyed his margarita in peace, and finally, had the best nights sleep he’d had in 85 years.


	2. Chapter 2

“So is anyone else kinda freaking out right now, or is it just me?” Klaus was pacing across his room. He’d gone from not being able to breath to having so much energy he had to move, and for a change he could put a name to it. He was anxious.

Not because he had spoken out of turn to Reginald. Or because he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off Ben since he realised he was corporeal. It was more because-

“We time travelled.” Ben said, as calm as always. Klaus was struggling to keep his eyes off Ben. His sweet, sweet Ben who was now so very alive. He also struggled to keep his eyes off Diego for that matter. 

It was no longer a flickering of their older selves he could see, it was instead their older selves completely. It was only when Klaus looked at a reflection, or passed a mirror, that he was greeted with their younger selves. 

The only thing stranger, was that Ben and Diego confirmed it was the same for them.

“Five might have answers.” Diego shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal that their baby brother had just flung them all back in time.

Which was making Klaus even more on edge because fuck - they time travelled. All of them. And it somehow made Ben alive again, which was blowing his mind right now. Not to mention some of Klaus’ scars were gone - not from his younger body, but the body he could see. The body that Diego and Ben could see. Which meant their travel had changed things they just hadn’t noticed yet. It had altered the future just from this.

“Klaus man, you have to breath.” Diego lightly berated, but the hint of concern had Klaus stopping, taking a breath then sitting on his bed. His legs were shaking up and down, trying to release some of the energy pent up in his system. He hadn’t thought of himself as a restless child, but clearly he had been. 

“We’ll figure this out.” It was still weird how Ben could touch him, a gentle hand on his shoulder that had Klaus biting his nails and glancing to Diego, as if needing reassurance that yes, he could see Ben too.

“What if we don’t figure it out.” Klaus might have been pulling at his curly hair, a nervous habit that the drugs usually masked. If he thought sobering up was bad, being thrust back in time into a body that didn’t know the pains of alcohol and drugs was even worse. Because he could kid himself into thinking that this time he would be able to control his addiction. Even to him, it sounded like a massive lie.

“Look.” Klaus looked at Diego, who pushed off from leaning against his desk to sit on the bed next to Klaus, Ben on the other side. “This isn’t gonna be like last time. We’re all gonna do things different, even if we don’t think we are. It’s natural.”

Natural. Like anything about time travel could be considered natural. 

“But what if we do?” It was nearly a whisper. “What if we still fuck up. What if we don’t help Vanya like we’re meant to be doing, and she just hates us still? What if Ben-” Klaus couldn’t finish his sentence, his throat tightening. It was no secret that his addiction got particularly bad after Ben died. 

“I’m right here, you know.” Ben had the teasing tilt to his voice, even as his hand rested on Klaus’ back, rubbing in comforting circles. 

“I can’t go through that again.” Leaning forward, Klaus was trying his hardest to put his head between his knees, fingers now insistently tugging at his hair. 

Even though he couldn’t see it, he knew that Ben and Diego shared a look. 

“If it does happen. If Ben dies and you go off the rails, you won’t go through it alone this time.” Diego’s hand joined Bens on his back, and Klaus felt like he could breath just a tiny bit better. “What happened before - we were all young and shitty and didn’t know each other very well. I’m not gonna just drop you off at rehab, okay? We’re going to work through whatever comes our way, like a family.”

“A family.” Klaus scoffed.

“Yeah. A fucked up family, but a family all the same.” Ben added, pinching Klaus’ back as punishment. 

Movement at the door drew all of their attention.

“Sir Hargreeves has asked that you join him for breakfast in the morning. 8am sharp.”

“Sure, Pogo.”

Klaus didn’t like how Pogo was looking at them. 

Like he didn’t believe them. Like travelling back in time was any different than having a talking monkey butler. Whatever it was that Pogo was seeing, it wasn’t everything. It wasn’t the hardships they had each overcome. It wasn’t the long years in recovery. Nor was it their independence. All Pogo could see were children. Three scared children who instead of putting on masks, like they had been taught to, comforted each other. Let down walls that had long been in place. 

Pogo looked at them like they were  _ fragile _ . 

It had anger bubbling up in Klaus’ chest.

Pogo looked at them like they were weak. 

Feeble. 

_ Pathetic _ .

**SLAM!**

Klaus jerked in surprise, blinking first to Ben, then to Diego. “Diego?”

“Wasn’t me.” Diego breathed, an almost proud noise.

“Pretty sure that was you, Klaus.” Ben added, a stupid grin on his face. A stupid grin that Diego mirrored not a second later. Had Klaus’ anger just-

“Tomorrow, then.” Pogo had called through the now closed door, hobbling away shortly after.

It couldn’t be. Klaus swallowed a lump in his throat, not quite believing what had just happened. Talking to dead was one thing, but his powers had never been  _ useful _ before. Talking to the dead didn’t exactly help when a bank was being robbed, or when hostages were being held at gunpoint. Whatever had just happened hadn’t been related to the dead at all, and it had something like fear curling in Klaus’ chest. That had been something different altogether. That had been telekinesis...

Klaus rubbed his hands down his face, making a broken sound. Diego had been right. They would do things differently. 

And Klaus was positive he would find a brand new way to fuck things up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this, an update that didn't take 6 months? It's because of the lovely reviews you guys left! (So keep 'em coming)


	3. Chapter 3

Sleeping had been an ordeal. Ben didn’t want to leave his side for fear he might wake up dead, and Diego was just damned clingy, as if Klaus would leave in the middle of the night to go get high (which previously, would have been a very good assessment of his character). 

At some point Five had walked in, looking lost and somehow smaller without Deloras at his side. Though he’d managed a few peaceful hours - the most peaceful he’d had in a long time, the anxiety of not knowing where the majority of his siblings were had been itching at him until he had to move. Five had opened his mouth, but no request had come out. Klaus just patted at the blankets they had thrown on the floor, inviting his brother to join them.

Even with adult minds, the trauma they had all faced was scarring, so reaching out for a little comfort was understandable. 

Klaus had been sure if it weren’t for the fact that Allison and Luther were probably making out, they would be joining the mass of bodies on his floor too. 

And Vanya.

He didn’t know what Hargreeves had done with her when he left, and his heart ached for her to be well, but he couldn’t deal with anymore stress that day. He would look for her in the morning and see how she was. Being the black sheep of the family; skill less and useless, they had a lot in common as they grew up. 

One of the reasons seeing her in that torture chamber was so hard. He’d wanted to help, he truly had, but he knew he was no match for Luther, and if there was even a doubt in his mind that Klaus had let Vanya out and something happened, Klaus would be joining the dead, not just talking to them. 

Finally, after what seemed like hours just listening to his brothers breathing, Klaus slipped into a light sleep.

“Hey.” A foot nudged him, and Klaus grumbled. The nudging persisted, as did the annoying voice.

“Get lost, Luther.” Klaus had grumbled some more, gripping whatever was in front of him and cuddling it tightly to his chest. The noise Five made had Klaus immediately pushing it away, blinking open his eyes to a very concerned and violated looking brother.

“Please tell me that’s a knife poking me.”

The way Klaus’ lips smirked had Five paling, scrambling from under the covers and yelling profanities. Klaus sighed, rubbing at his eyes. 

“You pervert!-”

“-Please don’t flatter yourself. It’s morning wood, this body is going through puberty and would fuck anything. Pulse or no.”

“That's really not comforting.” Luther supplied, clearly picturing something Klaus had never considered.

“I’m not fucking a corpse.”

“They were your words, not mine.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes at Luther. “You’re the goddamn pervert you know that? Get laid once and suddenly everything is a fuck hole, I mean really-”

“-Can we please stop talking about fucking corpses? I just want to eat breakfast.” Diego had practically whined from where he was trying to fit his holster on his small body, not used to the size difference. He still appeared as an adult to himself, so trying to fit clothes to a smaller body was difficult. 

Klaus stretched, ignoring the glare Five threw his way in favour of pushing himself first into a sitting position, and then to standing. He grabbed a change of clothes and shuffled into the bathroom to change, clearly needing some privacy to rearrange himself.

The only issue with being a child again was that they only had the stupid umbrella academy uniforms to wear. It wasn’t until they started moving out that they actually bought clothes for themselves. Klaus missed his skirts and leather trousers. He made due by leaving the top few buttons of his top undone, leaving the jacket and using the tie more like a bandana. 

To his adult self, the get up looked ridiculous, but his younger self could pull it off. 

When he joined his siblings, he was met with a chorus of groans. 

“What?”

“Can’t you just try.” Was Luthers eloquent response, motioning at Klaus in general. 

“Fucking  _ rude _ .”

“Watch your language, children.” Pogo had chided, making all of them on edge. Why Pogo had to escort them to the dining area, none of them knew. And what a change, they hadn’t eaten in the openness of the Hargreeves mansion since… well, since they were children. They all prefer the cosy kitchen to the long and pristine look of the dining table that Hargreeves himself prefered. 

Unexpectedly, Vanya was sat next to Hargreeves, a seat usually reserved for Luther.

“Children. Seat yourselves.” Hargreeves demanded, already eating his breakfast.

Vanya looked pale but much healthier than she had the last time Klaus saw her. 

Where his other siblings stood still, rooted in their places, Klaus surged forward, past Reginald, to pull Vanya into a tight hug. She looked relieved, her arms lifting to clutch at his back, a desperate need for contact.

“I’m sorry.” She said, and Klaus shushed her. Her fingers clenched against Klaus’ back, a sob wrecking her body. Each sibling moved then, going to Vanya before taking their respective seats, either patting her on the shoulder (Luther), or hugging her as tightly as Klaus was (Allison). 

When Reginald coughed in impatience, Klaus finally pulled back, pressing a kiss to Vanya’s forehead, then taking his own seat. He watched as she wiped at her face, ridding herself of the tears that had fallen. 

Even in her adult form, Vanya looked so young it broke Klaus’ heart. 

“You should have come to us.”

“Oh _fuck off_.” 

Luther looked upset, glaring at Klaus’ outburst.

“I wouldn’t come to you if I was fire, and you were the _only_ one who could put it out. I’d rather die a horrible, painfully slow death. Because you’re a _dick._ ”

Vanya snorted a laugh, glad that she had someone on her side. “Even if I did go to you, what would you have done? Dismissed me as wanting attention, or thrown me into that... That room.”

“You nearly killed Allison-!” Luthers raised voice was cut off by said female, who said sharply, and purposefully 

“-but she didn’t. And I provoked her by starting to use my power. We were both scared, and we both acted in the moment.” Allison’s gaze softened as she looked to Vanya, a genuine look of sadness and regret. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was really worried about you.”

“I should have listened to you. I should have-”

“Should haves, would haves, could haves.” Klaus huffed. “It’s in the past. Or well, the future? A possible alternative timeline? I’m not sure how this shit works, but the point is, we can’t do anything about it now, except move on, and do better.”

Reginald had been quiet during the raised voiced, but at Klaus’ unusually calm demeanour, playing peacekeeper instead of trickster, he placed his cutlery down onto his plate, dabbing a napkin to his lips.

“Better words have not been spoken under this roof.” Reginald agreed, making seven sets of eyes turn to him in mild shock. “Seven-” Reginald corrected himself, almost saying her name softly. “- _Vanya_ has updated me on everything she has been able to. What happened shall not be allowed to transpire again. For now, you should all eat. We have a lot of work to do.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst ahoy

A lot of work had been an understatement. By the time Reginald had finished putting them through his little tests, each of them was exhausted. 

Evidently, Reginald was torn. On the one hand, the vast improvements to their powers had proven Fives story to be correct about going to the future and pulling them all back. Yet at the same time, he was disappointed- he had expected their powers to have grown so much more than they had.

Vanyas was understandable. She hadn’t been able to use powers she didn’t know she had. Klaus had gotten a massive lecture about destroying his body with drugs, and even Luther, Mr. Golden boy, was given the cold shoulder after a long and loud beratement.

When Klaus finally managed to slip away, his hand reached for his neck, feeling for the metal of Daves dog tags.

His heart froze when his fingers just met skin.

“No…” he whispered, terror thrumming through his veins. He’d noticed the lack of scars, sure he had, but he hadn’t thought that - no. No, it wasn’t possible.

Klaus ran down the hall, pushing violently past Luther, enough that if he had been thinking he would have questioned how he’d managed to push Mr. Strong onto his ass. He skidded into the bathroom, practically tearing off his clothes. 

Tears pricked at Klaus’ eyes, not fully aware of the sound of smashing glass from nearby windows, or the fact that the tiles were cracking all around him. 

His fingers touched his stomach, eyes trained on the mirror as if it was lying to him. He blinked, hot tears running down his face.

It was gone.

A sob broke from his lips as he fell to his knees, hands pressed against his stomach as his head pressed against the cool and broken tiles.

Dave.

It wasn’t just the scars of his adulthood that had gone, but the scars of war. 

The ink from his tattoos. 

When he’d gotten it Dave had given him the goofiest smile, knowing that the text, even in a different language, declared Klaus’ love of him. He’d gotten it after the first time they’d made love. And yeah, it had been making love, not just fucking. He’d never before that moment felt like someone  _ loved _ him.

The sound of running was drawing closer, and Klaus didn’t want to face them. Didn’t want to be alive without his evidence of Dave. 

No tattoos. 

No dog tags. 

A scream so loud his throat felt like it fractured, and he was sure the ground was shaking underneath him. A sharp prick to his neck and suddenly Klaus had no more energy. The sobs didn’t stop. Nor did the pain in his chest. 

Slowly, Klaus slumped. Unconscious.

Reginald was stood panting at the door of the bathroom, frazzled and bloody. He dropped the blow dart tube as he stepped over rubble and tiles, picking up the small body of number four. 

Ben was stood just behind him, a gash across his forehead from when he hadn’t turned away from the windows in time to avoid the glass. Most of the others had similar cuts. Except for Luther who had been walking down the stairs at the time. He’d suffered a broken leg as the wood splintered under him.

The house would need a full remodel. 

So would the street, judging by the sound of rushing water from nearby fire hydrants, and the distant wailing of sirens. 

Ben moved to the side as Reginald marched past, concerned eyes following Klaus. 

At first, they had thought it was Vanya, losing control, angry. She had been just as confused as them, all of the strings on the violin she’d been playing snapped as if strung too tightly. 

Then Diego had heard the scream and they knew it was Klaus.

Klaus, who only the day before, had seen his power strong enough to slam a door in Pogos face without moving a finger.

“You hadn’t mentioned Number four was telekinetic.” Reginald snarled as Klaus was laid on the table in Reginald’s medical room. The others had been taken there by Pogo so he could tend to their wounds.

“We didn’t really know,” Ben admitted. “Yesterday he shut the door on Pogo, but this kind of power… we had no idea.”

“Could have been the drugs.” Diego offered. “Klaus was pretty much using as soon as he could. Maybe it dimmed his powers? He was never sober enough for them to fully form, and we all saw what he managed to do with just a few days of a clear head. He harnessed Bens powers.”

“Diego’s right. Our minds are what control our powers, not our bodies. Klaus’ mind, however fractured in his grief, was letting his powers run riot without even realising it. The fact that he’s now in a body that doesn’t have the damage of drugs and alcohol just acted like an amplifier for him.”

When Klaus had first told him that the briefcase wasn’t useable because he threw it down and it set on fire, Five had just thought of him as being dramatic. Now though… it was just after Dave died, and Klaus still had drugs in his system. It was very possible that even then, the fire had been caused by Klaus’ powers, just dimmed from the damage to his body. 

“What did you give him?” Diego’s gaze had darkened in anger. He didn’t want Klaus to become addicted again.

“A strong sedative.” Reginald sat on a swivel chair, rubbing at his temples. 

Ben was holding onto Klaus’ hand, offering him comfort even though he couldn’t appreciate it.

“And what about when he wakes?”

“He’ll have a calmer head, no doubt. Just as Vanya had.”

Vanya took the opportunity to step closer to Klaus, her cool hand pushing back curly hair from Klaus’ face. Out of all of them, Klaus and Allison has been the nicest to her. It hurt to see Klaus so broken.

“Whatever happens when he wakes up, we’re doing this as a family.” Diego announced, wincing as his wound was dabbed at with a wet cloth by mom. 

A quiet chorus of agreements followed. 


	5. Chapter 5

“Everything is gone?” Ben's voice was gentle, so was the hand on his back, a comforting weight that Klaus was eternally thankful for. He was still drugged at the moment, but a much lower dose. Unless he could control his emotions a bit more.

“Yeah. The tattoos. The dog tags. All of his clothes…” Klaus’ voice wobbled, pressing his face further into the pillow. At least he’d been moved back to his bed, instead of staying in the horrible room he woke up in.

The hand rubbed circles as Klaus cried. There were no broken windows this time, not even a tremble, and Klaus was glad. He hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone. He’d just been so overwhelmed at his loss-

A knock startled Klaus, and he glanced from under his arms to his bedroom door, spying Vanya.

“I um… I didn’t want to interrupt. I just wanted to see how he was doing.” 

“Better,” Ben answered on his behalf, removing his hand from Klaus’ back like he’d been caught doing something wrong.

Klaus sniffled, eventually turning over so he could open his arms to Vanya, making grabby hands to signal that he wanted a hug. Vanya was happy to oblige. She knew what it was like to be overwhelmed and have your powers do things you never expected. 

“You’re probably fed up of hearing this, but I’m sorry.” She said, patting down Klaus’ mess of curly hair as she hugged him. 

“I should have known as soon as we came back.” Klaus pulled back, a sad smile on his face. “I’ll be fine. Eventually. It’s just like whiplash for the brain, and it’ll take a bit of time to heal.” 

Honestly, if Klaus thought about it too much he got a headache. About how their scars had gone, which meant the timeline had been changed. About how this meant he would never see Dave. Never follow him to the front line. It was all so confusing, seeing as he still had the memories of doing just that. 

“If I’m honest, I’m just glad I’m not the only one who just discovered they have new powers.” Vanya tried to joke, bringing a grin to Klaus’ face. “I don’t have the story about breaking Luther’s leg though, that’s all you.”

Klaus’ smile faltered a little at the news. “Is he super pissed?”

“No. He knows you didn’t mean to do it. I think he understands a little bit. When he thought Allison was…”

Klaus squeezed Vanya’s hands, comforting her. The two of them were so alike, even though they weren’t related. Best friends from another life, Klaus thought. It was then that he noticed Diego hovering by the door frame like he wanted to come and make sure Klaus was okay, but not wanted to interrupt the very clear sibling bonding moment that was going on. Klaus tapped at Vanya’s hand, then let go, also giving Ben a pointed look.

The pair left the room, allowing Diego at least a few moments alone with Klaus. 

“Sorry about your face.” 

“I can’t tell if that’s a genuine apology, or if you’re being a little shit and calling me ugly.”

Snorting a laugh, Klaus shook his head. “I meant the new scar. I’m sorry.”

“Please, you’re not the first guy to give me a scar.” Klaus looked at Diego’s face then, as he stepped closer, and noticed it was patched up - expertly, no doubt by mom. 

Diego sat down next to him on the bed, his hands clasped tightly in his lap. He had a nervous energy about him that made Klaus wonder if he was going to ask a question or just sit in silence until he gave up. It’s why he was so surprised when Diego finally spoke up.

“Losing someone you love is really hard. And you’ve had to go through it twice now. I may not be the best at this kind of stuff, but if you ever want to talk I’m here, okay?”

“Thanks Dee..” Klaus took Diego’s hand in his own, holding it between them for a few moments. He hadn’t even realised he’d slipped into his youngers habit of calling Diego ‘Dee’. Back when they were young - or rather, last time they were young, Klaus would have little nicknames for all of his siblings. 

Allison was ‘Al’. Made her sound like a large burly man who could fuck shit up. She appreciated it. Luther had been Lulu. Feminine. He had hated it, which made Klaus use it more and more. The only ones who didn’t get nicknames were Five and Vanya. Five, because he disappeared before Klaus could think one up, and Vanya, because she had always been his sweet little sister.

Ben has the best name of all, and Klaus smirked a little as he thought about using it again.

Trying to lighten the mood, Diego nudged Klaus’ shoulder with his own, a small smirk on his face. “You should see Luther's cast. Mom only had that pink stuff to put on it. Luther’s been begging Allison to paint it all morning.”

Klaus chuckled. There was no way Allison would paint over it. Luther had probably been a nerd and asked for the moon. 

“He’s letting people sign it,” Diego added. 

“I’ve got to get a sharpie marker!” Klaus jumped up from the bed, yanking open his draws to search for said sharpie. He was going to draw a penis and there was nothing Luther could do to stop him. Wasn’t like he could run away.

That’s how Diego knew that Klaus would be okay. As he watched his brother cackle, running down the hallway with a sharpie in his hand and muttering about penis’. 

Ben stuck his head around the door, giving Diego a thumbs up. “Good speech. Very touching.”

“Bite me.”

“Sure you don’t want to ask Klaus that?” Ben smirked, making Diego flush a deep red. He had started to stutter his disgust, in a very unconvincing manner, so Ben interrupted him with a simple “We gonna do this or not?”

Swallowing down another stutter, Diego nodded his head. “B-Better to do it now while he’s distracted.”

Operation clean up was a go. 


	6. Chapter 5

“But why did you have to make it so detailed?” Luther whined, for what seemed like the thousandth time. No matter how hard he had tried to stop Klaus from drawing a penis on his cast, it hadn’t worked at all, and now he sported a very long, veiny and erect penis on his very bright pink cast. The only saving grace was that they weren’t due a fight anytime soon and that it had caused Vanya to laugh so hard she had cried. 

It was a much-needed change of pace from their shitshow of a life. 

Klaus’ artistic masterpiece had apparently given Diego and Ben enough time to complete whatever dastardly plot they’d had in mind when they first informed Klaus of Luther’s cast. He just prayed they were gentle to him. 

A whistle alerted Klaus to the presence of someone other than Luther who was still whining like a baby, and Klaus gave Diego a mini-salute in greeting.

“Impressive.”

“Just one of the things I’ve mastered,” Klaus said, grinning. “You should see what else I can do with a penis.”

“Please, it’s completely unrealistic in size,” Luther said then, making Klaus give him a look that clearly said Luther was wrong and possibly deluded. “No-one has a penis that big!” He said in defence, his cheeks flushing.

Klaus, taking pity, slapped a hand to Luther’s shoulder. “It’s okay buddy. Lots of partners will tell you it’s the motion of the ocean, not the size of the waves that matters.”

Spluttering, Luther slapped Klaus’ hand off him. “Fuck off that is totally not a penis size people have!”

“On the contrary, it’s pretty average in size compared to most men I’ve been with.” Klaus leant back just in time to avoid a punch to the face, hopping off the sofa and out of Luther’s reach. This cast was amazing. Luther was like a sitting duck! 

Diego seemed to think so as well, staring pointedly at the penis on Luther’s cast, then at Luther himself. “Proportional or not, it’s still not the biggest dick in this room.”

“Oh snap!” Klaus laughed from Diego’s side. He wasn’t fast enough to avoid the pillow thrown directly at his face. Klaus also didn’t miss the snorted laugh Diego gave at his pain. 

“Come on boys. Don’t pick on Luther when he can’t fight back.” Allison sauntered into the room, stopping by Klaus to pick up the offending pillow, and to press a kiss to his cheek. “How are you doing?”

“Great.” Klaus’ grin didn’t quite reach his eyes, but it wasn’t as empty as it had been earlier in the day. Drawing dicks on Luther was good therapy. He would have to get a sharpie and start on his face when Luther was sleeping. 

Allison squeezed his hand in comfort, then walked over to Luther, smacking the pillow back into his face as punishment for throwing it at Klaus.

“Nice penis.”

“Definitely the only time in his life he’ll hear that sentence.” 

Diego couldn’t hold it in anymore, he doubled over laughing, clutching at his sides as he gasped for breath. Klaus looked proud. It wasn’t often he got Diego to full body laugh like that, and to see Allison’s questioning look, and Luther’s very very flushed face in return was totally worth any backlash or revenge he might later get. 

“Will you stop joking about my penis?!” Luther was utterly scandalised, and if he didn’t make it so easy to poke fun, Klaus might have felt a little bad.

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s a joke all on its own.”

Diego was wheezing now, sat on the floor as he tried to control his breathing. Technically he didn’t need to breathe, but when you laugh as much as he had you tend to forget you have powers. 

Luther looked like he might actually spontaneously combust, so Klaus actually did give him an apologetic look, shrugging his shoulders. “You make it easy to pick fun.” It wasn’t exactly an apology, but it was as close as Luther was going to get. 

Slowly Diego pulled himself together, still clutching his side from where a stitch had formed at the sudden and unexpected overuse of his muscles. He grabbed Klaus’ elbow, giving Allison a grin as he led Klaus out of the room. They had barely stepped through the doorway when they heard Luther’s very anger mutter of ‘I have a good sized penis!’ and Allison’s sigh of ‘it’s not the size that counts’.

Klaus was a little confused as to why Diego seemed to be dragging him back to his own room. He had just left it, he didn’t want to go back in there. It was full of teenage angst and too much eyeliner. 

“Ben said you have nightmares, sometimes,” Diego said, so casually that Klaus actually jerked in surprise. Diego’s hold on his arm didn’t falter, but he did turn to give Klaus an apologetic look. “He saw lots of things when he was dead. Like all of your secret drug stashes.”

Oh no. Klaus chewed on his bottom lip.

“Technically you haven’t started using yet. Just painkillers I guess? Which we can’t really stop you from taking, because if you’re in pain you need them. But the rest of them, the hard ones, we took them. Disposed of them, so you can’t have them. Tough love. Ben said it would help in the long run. If you can’t see it, if you know it’s not there, you won’t be tempted.”

“Is this why you lured me away with the promise of Luther, a cast, and a sharpie pen?”

“Sorta?”

They’d arrived at Klaus’ room, and Diego stepped to the side, letting Klaus see inside. 

His heart skipped.

Ben was sat on his bed - well, what used to be just his bed, but it looked now like two beds pushed together. A larger duvet which they must have gotten from mom, and a bunch of pillows. Ben grinned at him, patting the bed to beckon Klaus over. He hesitated, stepping into the room slowly.

“What…?”

“You always went for hugs after a nightmare.” Ben shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world. “To be honest, I’m probably more touch starved than I would like to admit, what with being dead for so many years. And Diego is hardly used to personal space. So we figured, if it helps all three of us, why not?”

Klaus glanced back to Diego, and his lip wobbled at the soft smile he got in return.

“You guys are fucking assholes.” Klaus sniffed, still crawling onto the bed and collapsing directly on top of Ben. “Just got my eyeliner right and now I’m gonna smudge it all over your face.”

Ben laughed, and Diego joined them on the bed.

 

Maybe things would actually be okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very much appreciated and will keep this story being updated semi-regularly. If you're curious, you can find me on tumblr, and I'm also open to RP's! http://tricksterangelgabriel.tumblr.com/


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